System and method to provide a unified video signal for diverse receiving platforms

ABSTRACT

A method includes receiving a request for media content at a residential gateway from a device coupled to the residential gateway and sending a media content request to a server based on the request. The method includes receiving a video data stream of the media content at the residential gateway. Data packets of the video data stream enable generation of the media content at a first resolution. A first subset of the data packets include tags that enable identification of particular data packets usable to generate the media content at a second resolution that is lower than the first resolution. The method also includes determining a display characteristic of a display device coupled to the device and sending the particular data packets to the device when the display characteristic indicates that the device is to receive the media content at the second resolution.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/598,983 filed Jan. 16, 2015, which is aContinuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/021,914 filed Feb. 7, 2011, which is a Continuation of and claimspriority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/158,892 filed Jun. 22,2005. The contents of each of the foregoing are hereby incorporated byreference into this application as if set forth herein in full.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

The public's desire to extend communication to mobile devices and toother display systems in their homes continues to grow. Internet serviceproviders, telephone companies, cable TV companies, entertainment/mediaproviders, satellite companies, and businesses generally continue tomake additional video offerings available to consumers. These new videoofferings typically have improved video quality. While high qualityvideo may be truly appreciated on a high-end display device such as asixty-inch plasma high definition television set, the impact of a highresolution, high quality data stream, may be lost on the small twosquare inch display of a cellular telephone. Unfortunately, certaintechniques for transmitting video data and managing communicationsbetween various devices of a modern video network have severalshortcomings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 presents a block diagram of a service provider network that canbe utilized to provide communication to a subscriber location;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of possible components to process andtransmit video signals; and

FIG. 3 presents a flow diagram in accordance with a method for providinga unified signal to diverse video devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Consumers continue to desire new and additional features for homeentertainment services, and consumers continue to purchase electronicdevices with a wide variety of displays. Accordingly, a system andmethod for supplying the consumer with a large variety of datatransmissions in terms of resolutions and frame rates is providedherein. In one exemplary configuration, a communication system isconfigured to provide a single video data stream to a subscriber,wherein the single data stream can provide video data to multiplereceiving devices with diverse video data input requirements. Thecommunication system can include a digitizer that converts an analogvideo signal into a high-resolution digital video signal (HRDVS). Thecommunication system can also include a signal processing engine thatreceives the HRDVS, compresses the HRDVS signal, creates video packetsfrom the HRDVS, and identifies at least a portion of the video packetsfor distribution to different resolution devices.

A transmitter can be coupled to the signal-processing engine to transmitthe video packets to a subscriber location such as a business or aresidence. The communication system can also include a remote gateway ora set top box for receiving the transmitted video packets at thesubscriber location. After receipt of the video packets, the remotegateway can distribute the video packets to a first video display devicecapable of displaying the high resolution content and distribute aportion of identified video packets to a second video display devicecapable of displaying a lower resolution version of the high resolutioncontent.

In accordance with one configuration, the video packets in ahigh-resolution data stream can include multiple identifiers. Forexample, every third video packet may be identified for a medium qualitypicture while every ninth packet may be identified for a cellulartelephone display. Thus, every ninth packet will receive a dual identityand be part of more than one “lower resolution” subset. In accordancewith another configuration some video packets may be identified for aspecific device type or display resolution while other video packets maybe identified for a specific device, such as a Palm Pilot III® with aspecific Internet protocol address.

Packets may also be identified for a display parameter, such as adisplay resolution (e.g., 750 pixels by 750 pixels) or a frame rate. Forexample, every tenth packet may be identified for a 750 pixel by750-pixel display wherein every thirtieth packet may be identified fordevices having a 200 pixel by 200-pixel display. The packets may also betagged by sampling the data stream at predetermined intervals andtagging the sampled packet. Thus, packets can be tagged and eventuallygrouped by classifications based, for example, on display deviceresolution parameters and frame rates.

When a receiving device, such as a residential gateway, distributes theHRDVS, the entire HRDVS stream received by the residential gateway maybe sent to high resolution display devices while packets in the HRDVShaving a first identifier can be “split off” and transmitted to a secondclassification of video devices and packets having a second identifiercan be split off and transmitted to a third classification of videodisplay device. Thus, the original HRDVS stream can be filtered or pareddown such that devices that do not require high data rates or highquality video can be provided with a signal that is commensurate withtheir display capabilities.

As indicated above, identifiers or tags may be used to signal whichpackets in a given high resolution video stream should be included in alower resolution version of the video stream. In such an embodiment, ifa high-resolution frame includes an identifier; the high-resolutionframe or packet would be included in a low-resolution version of thevideo. If a high-resolution frame does not include an identifier, thehigh-resolution frame would not be included in a low-resolution versionof the video.

While much of the following description focuses on systems that useidentifiers to indicate which packets/frames should be included,identifiers could also be used to tag packets/frames that can be droppedfrom lower resolution video streams. In a “Tag/Drop” embodiment, ahigh-resolution packet/frame that includes a particular identifier wouldnot be included in a low-resolution version of the video. A systemdesigner may consider several factors when determining whether toimplement a “Tag/Keep” model verse a “Tag/Drop” model. Moreover, thesystem designer may include different types of tags. One type of tag maybe interpreted as a “Keep” tag while a different type of tag may beinterpreted as a “Drop” tag. In some cases, a given Keep tag may “tell”a system component to include the following X number of frames. The tagmay also suggest that all of the following packets/frames should be keptuntil the system sees a “Drop” tag. The type, number, andcharacteristics of identifiers may be modified to suit a given designgoal.

Providing video in a format that is compatible with device displayparameters can greatly reduce the cost of equipment and infrastructureneeded to provide service to multiple and diverse video receivingplatforms. For example, a high definition television can receive anentire data stream, yet a personal digital assistant, a cellulartelephone, or an older television may only receive a subset of the data.Because the lower resolution data is integrated with, and essentially aduplicate of portions of the HRDVS stream, only minimal processingeffort and minimal additional transmission infrastructure is required toimplement such a system.

The improvements in communication through digital technology can beutilized herein to provide enhanced video display quality. Likewise,more efficient compression and transmission algorithms can be utilizedto compress video and multimedia content to create a wide range ofdifferent types of content for different viewing devices. For example,the high definition (HD) content or HDTV is one example of the type ofcontent that is becoming more and more popular.

Video is no longer viewed on just older analog television monitors.Today, HD monitors are becoming more affordable, and personal computersand laptops can be configured to display video. Wireless phones, PDAs,iPODs®, pocket video games and a variety of other devices withnetworking capabilities are also capable of receiving and displayingvideo content within the home. Thus, it is desirable that video datadestined for older video display equipment and devices having smalldisplays can be efficiently delivered to such devices.

In one configuration, a service provider can offer similar types ofservices to different viewing platforms such as television sets, PCs andlaptops, PDAs, iPODs and other devices with reception and displaycapabilities. The illustrative embodiment offers a unified architecturethat provides a high quality signal for each different type of viewingdevice without requiring transmission of many different types of signalshaving redundant data. The illustrative embodiment also providesreliable security and digital rights management for content protectionby guarantying that only authorized or selected devices will receivedata that is intended for the specific device.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary high-level block diagram of an entertainmentvideo distribution network. In one entertainment video distributionarchitecture, content is acquired by, or stored by a content serviceprovider 102. The content service provider 102 can supply entertainmentvideo to a subscriber location 112, for example, via a satellitetransmitter 104, a satellite 106, and a satellite receiver 108. Thesatellite receiver 108 can supply video to off-air receiver at a superhead end (SHE) 110. The SHE 110 can have a video on demand (VoD) serverthat receives control signals from a subscriber and responsive to thecontrol signals provides requested content to the subscriber location112. At the SHE 110, video can be compressed and distributed to ametropolitan video hub office (VHO) 124.

Additional content such as local content may be acquired from localproviders or other providers at the VHO 124. Depending on the VoDarchitecture and the number of subscribers supported, VoD servers mayalso be located at the VHO 124. Local provider 126, such as a localtelevision station, can provide video to the VHO 124. Locally acquiredcontent at the VHO 124 can also be digitized and compressed at the VHO124 and combined with the content received from the SHE 110.

The combined content can be directly distributed to subscribers as isillustrated by the connection to subscriber location 112. Thecontent/combined content can also be distributed to additional localVideo Serving Offices (VSOs) 128. Depending on the distribution andaccess architecture desired, the VSO 128 can distribute the content to aplurality of individual subscriber's homes 130, businesses or accesspoints (not shown). In one configuration a very high speed digitalsubscriber line (VDSL) configuration is utilized between the subscriberlocation 112 and the VHO 124, however alternate configurations, such asfiber to the curb and other configurations, could be utilized.

In a cable Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) architecture (an implementation usingfiber optic components and cable components), analog RF modulation, anddigital quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) techniques can be utilizedto broadcast the content from the VHO to a residential gateway or a settop box (STB) 114. These techniques can also be utilized when analogservice is provided directly to a standard television set 132 at thesubscriber location 112. Additional configurations, such as fiber to thepremise (FTTP), fiber to the curb (FTTC) and other access networktechnologies, could be utilized to provide a signal to the subscriber.

In one implementation, a switched digital video (SDV) architecture isutilized to multicast the video content to a particular point on thenetwork (possibly a VHO) that is proximate to the end-users' location.In this configuration, channel requests and switching can beadministrated at the VHO 124 eliminating the need for a sophisticatedSTB 114. However, in both configurations, the STB 114 may be used tocommunicate via control signals and digital video signals. In oneconfiguration, the STB 114 decodes the authorized channel and displaysthe content on a high definition television (HDTV) monitor 116.

As is illustrated, many different types of receiving devices, such as ananalog television 132, a cellular telephone 122, a personal digitalassistant 120, and a personal computer 118, may be a receiver at asubscriber location 112. In one configuration, similar yet lowerresolution content compared to that provided to HD TV 116 is provided tosuch devices. Depending upon implementation detail, if each displaydevice were to be provided with high resolution (HR) content, the settop box 114 would be costly because it would be required to havesignificant data processing capacity. A system that provides HD or HRvideo to multiple devices could prove cost prohibitive for manyconsumers.

Thus, it would be desirable to provide a common signal or unified signalto set top boxes or gateways and allocate portions of thehigh-resolution signal to lower resolution devices. In thisconfiguration, each device, such as mobile telephone 122, personaldigital assistant 120 and personal computer 118, can receive anoptimized version of the video signal based on a the display capacity ordisplay resolution of the device. The selective distribution of videodata in accordance with the present disclosure can be implementedutilizing HFC networks as well as switched digital video (SDV) networks.

In the exemplary embodiment, a single communication link is illustrated;however, hundreds and even thousands of links similar to the one showncan be supported by the teachings of the present disclosure. Although ahousehold is shown in the illustrative embodiment as the subscriberlocation, the subscriber could be at any location having broadbandaccess.

FIG. 2 provides an illustrative embodiment that depicts a block diagramfor processing video signals and providing video signals to asubscriber. A receiver 201, possibly located at the SHE in FIG. 1, canreceive video data from an entertainment provider (not shown). Thereceiver 201 can supply a digitizer 202 with analog content, and thedigitizer 202 can digitize the analog content and supply digital data toa data compressor 204 where the data can be compressed. The datacompressor 204 can also be referred to as a “compression CODEC” or“coder/decoder.” Data compressor 204 can remove spatial and temporalredundancies that are inherently present in images and moving sequencesof video. Removal of these redundancies reduces the number of datapackets that need to be transmitted and hence reduces the workload oftransmitting and receiving devices and other data processing devices inthe transmission configuration.

Many types of compression technology could be utilized in cooperationwith the present disclosure to reduce the transmission workload/payloadof network components. Depending on the compression technology, the datacompressor 204 can transform the image/video data into a set ofcompressed data that contains different types of parameters. Mostexisting video compression standards use discrete cosine transform (DCT)to remove spatial redundancies in the video data. Likewise, a variety ofmotion estimation techniques can be utilized to reduce temporalredundancies.

A large number of different filtering and pixel manipulation techniquescan also be utilized to reduce compression artifacts and produce goodquality video while minimizing the volume of the transmissions. Atypical compression technique generates a number of DCT coefficients,motion vectors, and other parameters that are then encoded into the datastream using a variety of encoding techniques. Many differentcompression techniques could be utilized to complement the presentdisclosure without parting from the scope of its teachings.

In accordance with the teachings herein, some subscriber display devicesmay operate satisfactorily with a low-resolution signal, others amedium-resolution signal, while others a high resolution orhigh-definition signal. Further, other devices may effectively utilize asignal having a resolution somewhere between the above resolutions.

A data tagger 206 can receive the compressed signal and tag packets inthe data transmission that can be utilized by lower resolution devicesto provide a satisfactory video. Tagging can be performed on a timingbasis (i.e., every millisecond), based on a packet count or with anyother reliable sampling process. Portions of the transmission may beidentified or tagged for specific devices or specific device types thatcan function on less data capacity than a high definition transmission.Tagging packets in a video data stream avoids transmission of duplicatepackets or duplicate signals and reduces the workload of systemcomponents. In one configuration, the data tagger 206 may tag ahigh-resolution or high definition video packet stream with multipletypes of tags to provide multiple levels of lower resolutions. Thepackets may also be tagged based on various device types and displayparameters. The high resolution/definition data (as tagged) can then beforwarded to and transmitted by transmitter 208.

Although illustrated as separate modules data compressor 204, the datatagger 206 and the transmitter 208 can be considered as a dataprocessing engine 218. The data processing engine 218 can usetrans-coding equipment located in the distribution network or at thecustomer premise to provide different versions of the content fordifferent types of viewing devices at the customer or subscriberpremise.

Thus, a single transmission having tagged data can be sent from the dataprocessing engine 218 to the receiver-filter 210 and this transmissioncan be filtered to provide different display resolutions to deviceshaving different display data requirements. The receiver-filter 210 canbe locate within a set top box, such as the set top box in FIG. 1

The receiver 210 can retransmit or deliver all the data packets to ahigh-resolution device, such as a HDTV 212, and parse, filter, split, ormultiplex data packets from the high definition data stream to deliver afirst subset of the packets (i.e., packets tagged with a firstidentifier) to PDA 214 and deliver a second subset of the packets (i.e.,packets tagged with a second identifier) to mobile phone 216. Thereceiver 210 can also provide security from eavesdropping byimplementing digital rights management procedures such that theappropriate signal is transmitted to and received by the appropriatedevice.

In one configuration, reliable security and/or digital rights managementcapabilities can also be utilized to safeguard the content of thetransmission. All viewing end-points or video devices 212-216 mayinitially register with the receiver-filter 210 (e.g., the set top boxor the residential gateway). The receiver-filter 210 can provideencryption keys, and the communications from the receiver-filter 210 tothe display device 212-216 can be encrypted or scrambled such that onlythe registered subscriber video devices can decode and display the videotransmitted by the receiver-filter 210. Digital rights management can beparticularly useful in wireless communications. The receiving devices212-216 may also execute a routine to identify their characteristics,such as a screen size or an optimal and minimal display resolution, suchthat the receiver-filter 210 can optimize the filtering process for eachdevice. Specific display devices can be provided with an optimal subsetof compressed data based on the identified operational deviceparameters.

Referring to FIG. 3 a method for providing a unified video stream usableby diverse receiving platforms is provided. At 302, video data isreceived or acquired possibly at a SHE or a VHO. If the video data isreceived in an analog format, it can be converted to a digital videosignal, at 304. The video data may be encoded or digitized into ahigh-resolution format or a format that is designed as the highestviewing quality available (i.e., currently for HD consumer televisionsets).

At 306, the digitized video can be compressed and, at 308, the digitizedcompressed high-resolution video can be tagged such that portions of thecompressed video can be identified and “copied out” to form duplicatedata that forms a subset of the high-resolution video. Each subset beinguseable by lower resolution displays.

In one configuration, the data can be tagged with different types oftags such that each subset has a specific tag and can therefore beidentified for distribution to a specific device type, resolution framerate, viewing specification or screen size. The identification can occursuch that each identified portion of the compressed data is optimized orhas a high enough data rate to provide quality viewing but does notprovide data in excess of that necessary to provide the quality video toeach device.

The entire video data stream (the high resolution signal with theembedded tags) can be transmitted over a communication network, at 310.The video can be received, at 312, by a receiving device such as a settop box or a residential gateway. Many receivers and receivingmethodologies could be utilized. For example, a SDV network, a VDSLnetwork, or a master STB for an HFC network could be utilized totransport and switch the video data. At 314, the tagged portions of thevideo data can be copied and buffered and then transmitted to theappropriate devices while the high-resolution data, the “highest qualitydata” or the entire data stream can be sent intact to the highresolution/definition video devices, at 316. Different tags, taggingschemes and different tagging time intervals can be applied to the datafor different devices or different display areas in accordance with thescope of the present disclosure.

The above-disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments that fall within thetrue scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to the maximum extentallowed by law, the scope of the present disclosure is to be determinedby the broadest permissible interpretation of the following claims andtheir equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by theforegoing detailed description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, by a systemincluding a processor, a request for media content from a device;receiving, by the system, a video data stream including the mediacontent, wherein the video data stream includes a plurality of datapackets, wherein a first data packet of the plurality of data packetsincludes first media data and a first tag identifying a firstresolution, wherein a second data packet of the plurality of datapackets includes second media data and a second tag identifying a secondresolution that is lower than the first resolution, wherein a third datapacket of the plurality of data packets includes third media data andthe first tag, and wherein a fourth data packet of the plurality of datapackets includes fourth media data, the first tag, and a fourth tagidentifying the second resolution; determining, by the system, a displaycharacteristic of a display device coupled to the device; and sending,by the system to the device, a subset of the plurality of the datapackets in response to the display characteristic indicating that thedisplay device has a presentation capability less than the firstresolution, wherein the subset includes the second data packet and thefourth data packet.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending thesubset of the plurality of the data packets includes: identifying thesecond data packet based on the second tag; and in response toidentifying the second data packet: sending the second data packet;sending subsequent data packets received temporally after the seconddata packet until a third tag of a fifth data packet of the plurality ofdata packets is detected, the fifth data packet including fifth mediadata and the third tag indicating that the fifth media data correspondsto the first resolution; and in response to detecting the third tag,ceasing to send subsequent data packets.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the subset does not include the first data packet.
 4. The methodof claim 1, further comprising sending, by the system, the plurality ofdata packets to the device in response to the display characteristicindicating that the device has a presentation capability at the firstresolution.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the subset of theplurality of data packets is encrypted prior to being sent to thedevice.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the media content includesmedia-on-demand content.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein a fifth datapacket of the plurality of data packets includes fifth media data and athird tag identifying a third resolution that is lower than the secondresolution, and wherein the subset of the plurality of the data packetsdoes not include the fifth data packet.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein the first resolution corresponds to a high definitionresolution, wherein the second resolution corresponds to a standarddefinition resolution, and wherein the third resolution corresponds to aresolution for a portable communication device.
 9. The method of claim8, wherein the portable communication device comprises a mobilecommunications device, a personal digital assistant, or a video gamedevice.
 10. A machine-readable hardware storage device storingexecutable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitateperformance of operations, the operations comprising: obtaining a videodata stream associated with media content responsive to receiving arequest from a device, wherein the video data stream includes aplurality of data packets, wherein a first data packet of the pluralityof data packets includes first media data and a first tag identifying afirst resolution, wherein a second data packet of the plurality of datapackets includes second media data and a second tag identifying a secondresolution that is lower than the first resolution, wherein a third datapacket of the plurality of data packets includes third media data andthe first tag, and wherein a fourth data packet of the plurality of datapackets includes fourth media data, the first tag, and a fourth tagidentifying the second resolution; determining a display characteristicof a display device coupled to the device; and sending to the device asubset of the plurality of the data packets in response to the displaycharacteristic conforming to the second resolution, wherein the subsetincludes the second data packet and the fourth data packet.
 11. Themachine-readable hardware storage device of claim 10, wherein theoperations further include: determining a second display characteristicof a second display device coupled to a second device responsive toreceiving a second request from the second device; and sending to thesecond device a second subset of the plurality of the data packets inresponse to the second display characteristic conforming to the firstresolution, wherein the second subset includes the first data packet anddoes not include the second data packet.
 12. The machine-readablehardware storage device of claim 11, wherein the second subset includesthe third data packet and the fourth data packet.
 13. Themachine-readable hardware storage device of claim 10, wherein theoperations further comprise: receiving a registration request from thedevice; and sending an encryption key to the device.
 14. Themachine-readable hardware storage device of claim 13, wherein eachparticular data packet of the subset of the plurality of data packets isencrypted, and wherein the device decrypts the subset of the pluralityof data packets with the encryption key.
 15. The machine-readablehardware storage device of claim 10, wherein the determining the displaycharacteristic of the display device includes receiving information fromthe device, wherein the information includes parametric data associatedwith the display device.
 16. A media device comprising: a processor; amemory coupled to the processor, the memory including instructionsexecutable by the processor to perform operations, the operationsincluding: obtaining a video data stream associated with media contentresponsive to receiving a request from a communication device, whereinthe video data stream includes a plurality of data packets, wherein afirst data packet of the plurality of data packets includes first mediadata and a first tag identifying a first resolution, wherein a seconddata packet of the plurality of data packets includes second media dataand a second tag identifying a second resolution that is lower than thefirst resolution, wherein a third data packet of the plurality of datapackets includes third media data and the first tag, and wherein afourth data packet of the plurality of data packets includes fourthmedia data, the first tag, and a fourth tag identifying the secondresolution; determining a display characteristic of the communicationdevice; and sending to the communication device a subset of theplurality of the data packets in response to the display characteristicof the communication device corresponding to a resolution less than thefirst resolution, wherein the subset includes the second data packet andthe fourth data packet.
 17. The media device of claim 16, wherein thecommunication device is wirelessly coupled to the media device.
 18. Themedia device of claim 16, wherein the media device comprises a set-topbox device.
 19. The media device of claim 16, wherein the subset doesnot include the third data packet.
 20. The media device of claim 16,wherein the subset does not include the first data packet.